


Underneath the Christmas tree

by DawnsEternalLight



Series: 12 Days of Winter Whumperland 2020 [2]
Category: Batman (Comics), Batman and Robin (Comics)
Genre: 12 days of winter whumperland 2020, Alfred Pennyworth - Freeform, Angst, Barbara Gordon - Freeform, Christmas, Damian Wayne Needs a Hug, Dick Grayson Needs a Hug, Explosions, Fluff, Gen, Holidays, Hurt/Comfort, Injury, Kidnapping, Stephanie Brown - Freeform, They Get Hugs, Whump, count down timer, given as a gift
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-15
Updated: 2020-12-15
Packaged: 2021-03-10 23:55:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,216
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28095780
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DawnsEternalLight/pseuds/DawnsEternalLight
Summary: There's a new costumed baddie in Gotham just in time for the holidays. He's been leaving more and more dangerous presents through the city but changes things up when he takes Robin. Now it's up to Batman to stop things and save his partner before he finds Robin in one of those gift boxes.
Relationships: Dick Grayson & Damian Wayne
Series: 12 Days of Winter Whumperland 2020 [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2053176
Comments: 9
Kudos: 117





	Underneath the Christmas tree

**Author's Note:**

  * For [FidotheFinch](https://archiveofourown.org/users/FidotheFinch/gifts).



> This one's for the 12 Days of Winter Whumperland event day 4: All I Want for Christmas is You, given as a gift prompt. 
> 
> Thanks so much to Audrey for helping me pick this idea out when I was very stuck <3 
> 
> Also, Fido I hope you enjoy it!!

“Who fills gift boxes with trash?” Robin asked, wrinkling his nose, and stepping away from a brightly colored box Dick could practically see the smell lines coming off of. 

“Someone who’s a real Grinch.” Oracle said over the comms.

“Nah, even the Grinch just stole stuff, this guy’s leaving it. He’s like, the anti-Grinch.” 

“That would make him your Saint Nicholas.” Damian pointed out, “I do not believe he is that either.” 

Dick huffed, and crossed his arms, “Alright, then--Jack Skellington?” 

“Take that back, it’s an affront to both the character and movie.” Stephanie’s voice came over the line now. 

“If I am remembering the film correctly--” Damian started.

“You’d better, we just watched it.” Dick interrupted. 

“If I am,” he repeated with some force, “Skellington did leave horrifying gifts, so our criminal is closer to him, but lacking his good natured spirit about it all.” 

The argument was getting them nowhere near closer to finding their anti-Grinch-Skeleton guy, and Dick tried to tamp down some frustration. Normally he’d banter with the best of them, but tonight he wanted this case solved and over. It was a week before Christmas, and Dick had a hundred things he’d rather be doing than stomping around Gotham searching for a shiny new bad guy. 

There were things about the holidays Dick loved, and things he hated. More often than not in Gotham, the things he didn’t like tried their best to overwhelm what he did. This year he’d been intent on letting the good win out. If not for him, for Damian. 

He glanced at his brother who was carefully replacing the ribboned top of the box before stepping away from it to frown. 

Damian who was in desperate need of something normal. Of fun for the sake of fun no matter what form it came in. Dick had so many plans for that. Bits and pieces of the cobbled together traditions he and Bruce, and Jason, and Tim, and Alfred had participated in. Of gingerbread, of Alfred’s mince pies, and even some of Dick’s own traditions he’d held for years. 

None of the proposed traditions had been as hard a sell as Dick had thought they would be. All it really took was telling him how each one connected him to his Father or Alfred, and promising him they could incorporate whatever he wanted for the holidays too. Dick also thought Damian was just kind of excited to do something both Dick and Steph seemed so excited for, he just wouldn’t admit it. 

So when all these strange presents started showing up across Gotham, Dick was not pleased. Not at all. 

They’d found trash, broken toys, rats, and even bugs. One box had inexplicably been filled with loose rotten milk. Dick wasn’t sure if it had been bad going in or curdled in the sun. They were in all shapes and sizes, all decorated with care and left in places civilians would come across them and think they were actual gifts for them. Doorsteps were popular, but they’d popped up in the mail, and been delivered to places of work. 

Over the past few days they’d also become increasingly dangerous. Venomous snakes, spring loaded traps, and all kinds of things had begun finding their way into boxes and it had to stop. Dick couldn’t let this escalate further.

“Batman, there is another.” Damian said, pointing to the set of apartments behind them, “Should we check it out or?”

“Another?” Dick spun, “But I’m sure this was the only one on this street when we--Robin scan the area that Gifting Grinch’s gotta be around here somewhere.” 

“Maybe Gremlin?” Steph added offhanded, “Since we’ve determined he’s not a Grinch.” 

Dick ignored the chatter and scanned the street, while he heard Damian hurry over to the new box, then moved again. Dick glanced over to see him by the opening between apartment buildings to peer down the strip of grass keeping them from being one property. 

“Stay on this street, Robin.” He called, and flicked his thermals on.

“Tt, I will not leave.” 

He did a double sweep of the street to look for heat signatures. The man couldn’t have just walked over, and if he had it hadn’t been from far. Stephanie was at the most recent present drop off ten minutes over, and Batman and Robin had only just arrived here to look at this one. 

A person ducked around a fence and Dick ran for them, spinning around to find a woman crouching with her hands up, looking frightened. 

“I was hoping to find out more about the presents.” she said, “They left one on our porch yesterday, nasty thing all filled with beetles.” 

“We’re doing all we can to figure it out Ma'am. You head back inside though, alright? It’s not safe to be out right now.” Dick told her. 

Then, as if to prove his words, from behind him, Dick heard the sound of an explosion. The woman screeched, and scrambled back, throwing open a gate on the fence to duck into, while Dick spun and darted back towards the second gift. 

Red bloomed in his vision, and he had to fiddle with his cowl to make the settings return to normal. When he could see clearly again, he noted that the explosion hadn’t been large, but it had been big enough to break the wooden steps of the porch the gift had been placed on, and leave the door black and singed. 

“Robin!” Dick called out. 

Dick couldn’t see any signs of his brother’s uniform, but that didn’t mean Damian hadn’t somehow gotten caught in the blast. He’d been close by, if he’d heard ticking or--it didn’t matter, Dick just wanted to know he was okay.

“Robin, answer me!” Dick called, and ran from the explosion site over to the split between buildings to check there. 

He ran down the side, and looked around both ends of the street. No sign of his brother. Dick darted back to the original street, hoping his brother had miraculously appeared there. 

Empty. 

“Oracle, get me a location on Robin.” 

Dick was not panicking. He wasn’t. Not yet. Damian didn’t run off as much as he had when he’d first come to Gotham, but if he’d found the guy he might. Even if Dick told him to stay put. He was just--somewhere. And Babs could track him. One thing Dick insisted on as much as Bruce had were trackers in uniforms during patrol. Especially when Damian was prone to running off on his own. 

“He’s two streets over from the bomb, moving fast.” Oracle said. 

Before she was even done, Dick was running. Past the apartments, into the street he’d looked over, and down a sidewalk. When he came out on the indicated street, he spotted an honest to goodness sleigh on wheels speeding around a corner. A man dressed suspiciously like Santa in it’s seat, with--

“Robin!” Dick yelled, and pelted off in the direction of the sleigh, “O do not lose them, he’s got Robin.” 

He smacked the controls on his wrist telling the Batmobile to meet him at his location and didn’t stop running, turning the corner to keep an eye on the quickly disappearing red vehicle. 

The car came to a screeching stop next to Dick as the sleigh turned again. He climbed in, foot on the pedal almost before he’d closed the door. Dick tore down the street, swinging left to find--an empty street.

“Babs, where’d he go? I no longer have a visual.” 

“He’s--the signal’s gone. Dick I’m sorry, I don’t see him anymore.”

“Get it back, Babs, please.” 

He didn’t stop, instead choosing at random, a right this time. Dick drove and drove, searching longer than even his hope was willing to hold out until he came to a rolling stop, with Babs in his ear trying everything but being unable to get Robin’s signal to show back up again. 

“Alright. Alright.” Dick said, head on the wheel, “We find the Gift Gremlin, he’s got Damian, so we find him we find Robin.” 

Two days passed with no break in the case. Dick hardly slept. He couldn’t. Not with Damian out there, abducted by a criminal they knew next to nothing about. That uncertainty was eating away at him. As was the fact that presents kept showing up. 

More and more exploded, so much so that a city wide alert had gone out warning people of opening strange boxes. Still, children would open them or dogs might nose off the top, and that’s all it took to get the timers ticking down. 

Dick was pulling on his cowl, ready to head out early again, when Alfred returned downstairs. He was carrying a tray with sandwiches and tea cups on it. Seeing Dick in his uniform had him raising an eyebrow. 

“It is not even dark yet.” 

“The sun’s setting.”

“Do you have time to sit for a minute and eat with me? Perhaps going over the files together will give you a new clue. Or have you learned something since I saw you last?” 

Dick sighed, and tugged the cowl back off his face, “No, I haven’t. Fresh eyes would be helpful.” 

Alfred set out the tray on a workbench while Dick collected physical files and tablets to lay among it all. They sat down next to each other and got started. Alfred didn’t even frown at the mess, he simply tugged a stack of papers towards him as he sipped at his tea. 

They worked in silence, Dick nibbling at his sandwich while focusing more on reading information he’d gone over a hundred times already, while Alfred scanned each document Dick discarded and gently prodded him to eat. 

At last, Dick couldn’t stand it. Time was passing and even going over the documents felt like it was getting them nowhere. At least on patrol he could shake down criminals and ask people if they’d seen the Gift Gremlin --and didn’t Dick hate that nickname, it sprung Damian to mind and the affectionate nickname Jason and Steph had bestowed on him.

He stood, hands slamming down on the workbench and released a heavy sigh.

Alfred glanced up at him, concern furrowing his brow, “You know the lad can take care of himself, right? Master Damian will be fine.” 

His brother could take care of himself, Dick knew that. Of course he did, but--it was Christmas. Getting closer every day, and he wanted Damian here. Safe. Protected. Laughing at a stupid joke Dick made and scowling at the stockings as they each decorated each others. 

Dick didn’t want Damian to have to take care of himself, now or ever. 

“I just--I can’t lose him Al.” 

“I know.” Alfred stood, “Go, I’ll monitor comms and let you know if anything odd comes up.” 

Dick had just made it into Gotham proper, and was considering his options for where to start when the comm in his ear crackled to life, and Alfred’s voice came over the line. 

“Master Dick, I believe your next clue has arrived.”

“What do you mean?” Dick asked, heart picking up. 

“I’ve just gotten word that another series of presents were dropped off at the square, under Gotham’s annual tree.” 

Dick knew the location. Every year the city set up a huge Christmas tree and had a lighting ceremony for it. Dick had taken Damian just before this whole mess had started. They’d had cider and cocoa and his brother had grouched and stomped through the snow, all the way until they’d lit the tree, and then he’d gasped. Dick could still picture the way Damian’s whole face had lit up. 

“Got it.” he said, “On my way.” 

“Dick?” Barbara’s voice replaced Alfred’s.

“If this is about the tree Al just told me.” Dick said, swinging the car into a sharp right turn, if he remembered right this should be the most direct route over. 

“Did he also tell you there’s a huge box there with the tag: For Batman?” Barbara asked.

Dick frowned, “He did not.”

Anything could be in that box. But Dick’s gut told him it was Damian. It had to be, right? The guy had been giving stuff. Why take Robin just to keep him? Why take Robin at all? The only answer would be to give him back to Batman.

He tried not to think about the quality of gifts that had been left so far. Maybe the bad thing here was simply taking the kid. Damian being gone had caused Dick no shortage of fear and worry. Nothing else needed to happen to his boy. 

“I’m sending Batgirl your way, as backup. If those boxes are filled with more bombs you’ll need a hand evacuating people. It looks like they’re crowding around.” 

Dick swore. The last thing he needed was a crowd gathering to gawk at the dangerous explosive gifts. One would think Gotham’s citizens knew better than that. How many years before this had been tainted by Rouges? Ornaments were filled with joker gas, trees shot spines coated with fear toxin, and yes even dangerous presents weren’t off the table. One year Firefly had dropped off jack-in-the-boxes equipped with flamethrowers. 

“Alright, just make sure no one touches those boxes.” 

When Dick reached the square he immediately noticed what Barbara had been talking about. Normally it was a busy spot, with shopping and stands set up through the season, selling hot drinks and handmade gifts. People milled around but only clumped up if something exciting was happening. 

Tonight, they’d all gathered around the tree. 

Dick hopped out of the car, had the sense of mind to lock it, and hurried forward. He still hadn’t quite gotten used to how Batman’s presence sent people scattering, but tonight he was thankful for it. It meant he didn’t have to work hard to get people to move. 

“Everyone move back!” he called, “Whatever is going on is dangerous, and you could get hurt.” 

Chatter died down into murmurs as the crowd split, and scooted back just a bit for Batman. Dick bolted through the opening to stare at the assortment of presents below the tree. They looked gorgeous, he had to admit that. Professionally wrapped, glittering, and each decorated with different types of bows, the whole thing looked like a set up for a professional photo shoot. 

Dick had kind of been hoping the Gift Gremlin would be around, but there was no obvious sleigh or creepy man in a Santa Costume fitting the vague descriptions they’d collected, or Dick’s own recollections. 

Batgirl dropped into the square as Dick stood semi-frozen before the boxes. She jogged over and nodded at him. 

“What’s the plan?” 

Dick’s mind was racing. He knew for a fact none of the gifts had blown up until they’d been opened, and all these looked perfectly wrapped and untouched still. Their best bet was to clear the area first, then he’d check the Batman Box. 

If Damian was inside, Dick doubted the kid wanted to be seen by a huge crowd of onlookers. 

“Clear the area. Get those people back across the street. And then make sure they don’t move back up here.” 

Dick helped her herd the group further and further back, shooting Batglares at anyone who even groaned unhappily, and actually snapped at one person, “Would you like to explode tonight?” He was in no mood for people who had no sense of self preservation. He wanted to find his brother, and stop the madman ruining his week. 

Then, the moment he felt he could, he was running back across decorative brick, kicking up snow with every footfall, and over to slide to a stop at the tree in front of the present. It was so large it rose to his chest. This was decorated as nicely as the others had been, in sparkling gold paper that the lights of the tree glittered off of, with a lid placed on top and a bow with so many folds it looked a bit like a chrysanthemum in full bloom. Hanging off the side was a comically large gift tag that did indeed read For: Batman.

Dick flipped on his thermals to check the inside and his heart just about stopped. Tucked within was a blob of warmth roughly the shape of a person on their knees, and the size of Damian. 

Dick’s heart dropped into his stomach.

He froze again. Bruce would check every box, scan them for bombs and wires and a hundred other things to make sure he knew the full scope of the situation. Dick went with his heart. He switched his vision to normal and pulled the lid off the box. As he did so, the four sides fell away, leaving Robin kneeling in the center of where it had stood. Dick let the lid drop by his side.

He was breathing. That was the first thing Dick noticed. Breathing, with dried blood caked to the side of his head, and scratches on the skin he could see. His cape was a little singed, telling Dick his brother had indeed been caught by the first blast, if not fully caught in it. 

He was bound, hands tied behind his back, with rope keeping his legs together and a line of it connecting both so he couldn’t stand. He’d also been blindfolded, gagged, and Dick could just see earplugs tucked into his ears. He probably had no idea what had just happened, who was by him or where he was. 

The thing that froze Dick in his tracks was what else was on him. A bomb like something out of a cartoon, all TNT with wires connecting it to a box and a countdown timer had been attached to Damian’s chest, the straps of which looped around his tied arms and to his back. The timer was counting down from 5 minutes. A rather long timer for one of the Gift Gremlin’s bombs. 

Wind swirled around them, picking up snowflakes and tangling them in Damian’s hair only to melt after a few seconds. The kid shivered, and broke the spell holding Dick frozen. He dropped to his knees moving in front of Damian to shield him from the crowd of people Dick knew were still standing some distance away. 

Then he clicked on his comm to open a private channel with Stephanie, “He’s attached a bomb to Robin. Don’t start a panic, but get everyone out of here. I’m going to try to disarm it.” 

“Shoot, what about the other presents?” 

Dick glanced up, switching the settings on his lenses again, in each and every box he scanned his eyes over he could see little bombs inside. He should have been Bruce earlier, because each one also had a line running down it and under the fallen portion of the box Damian had been in. He traced it up, to the pack strapped to his brother.

He swore. 

“Got it. Alright, everyone show’s over! Time to get going!” Stephanie said. 

Dick was confident Steph had things sorted and reached out hesitantly to Damian. He needed to know if the kid had been given any instructions about the bomb. And honestly? He didn’t want to keep Damian in this state any longer than he had to be. Who knew how long he’d been bound like this. 

As quickly as he could he popped both earplugs out of Damian’s ears and said, “Robin, it’s Batman. Don’t move.”

Damian who’d only just started to struggle stilled. 

Dick got the blindfold off next, then tugged the gag out of Damian’s mouth. His brother coughed and blinked at him, frowning. The way he settled on squinting told Dick he’d at least been blindfolded for a while if the dimmer lights of the tree and streetlamps were bright enough he was still struggling to see. 

“I’m going to get the bomb off you, but I need to know if that guy told you anything about it.” he prompted gently. 

“There’s a trigger.” Damian said, his voice raspy with disuse, “If you just take it off it’ll explode.” 

Dick nodded, “Good to know. That would have been my first instinct. Alright, to disarming it I go.”

“No!” Damian said, “No, leave! Once you start it’s just going to speed up until it blows.” 

He shook his head, “Can’t do that.” 

“Then you’ll die too.” Damian snapped, “Leave me, Batman.” 

Dick looked him over, really looked at him. Damian’s voice said determination. His body was tight in the way it used to get when he thought Dick was angry with him and he’d be punished in some way befitting the League. His chin raised in defiance. But Dick could just see his eyes through his lenses, and nothing could hide the look there that said he was terrified. 

“I’m not leaving you.” Dick promised, “I will never leave you.” 

Then before Damian could argue further, Dick switched the setting in his mask again so he could see the lines running from the bomb and into its circuitry and got started attempting to disarm it. They were down to four minutes, and the moment he touched it to start pulling off the front of the box, the numbers started moving faster. 

Dick ignored it, and started to pick away at the wires, searching. He could do this. He’d disarmed bombs similar before. None with a timer that kept speeding down, but he  _ had _ to do this. He couldn’t lose Damian. Couldn’t live with himself if he let his kid die. 

“Batman.” Damian said, dropping his voice low, “Go.” 

He shook his head again, biting his bottom lip. He thought maybe he had the right spot, and then realized he’d skipped a wire and grumbled. 

The timer had dropped to three minutes now, a full minute gone in half that. When it hit three the numbers sped again. Dick could feel his heart rising in his throat. 

“Richard.” Damian’s voice begged, “Please go. Please, just leave me. You can make it.” 

“I promised you before, I’d always save you.” Dick ground out, “And even if I fail, I refuse to leave you alone.” 

“Don’t be a fool.” Damian’s voice was thick, and Dick didn’t have the heart to look up into his face. 

Dick worked and couldn’t stop himself glancing at the timer. 2 not-minutes now. Probably 45 seconds if they were lucky. 

“Please.” Damian begged again, “Richard, please. I--could not stand it if you died because of me. Please go. Please.” 

It was more times than Damian had ever said the word please to Dick. Each one, and the sobbs that started with them cracked his heart again and again. But he wasn’t going to stop. He couldn’t. He plucked another wire and the timer kept going. 

Desperation filled his movements, even as Damian’s sobs flooded his ears. 

“Just--go--please. For me? Please, Richard. You are the only good thing in my life and if you die--” he hiccuped, shifting Dick’s hand away from another wire, probably the wrong one. 

“No.” Dick said, again, “I’m not. I refuse. You are the best thing that’s ever happened to me, kiddo, you are my whole heart and then some, and I am not stopping.”   


The bomb was beeping now, counting down it’s last ten kind-of-seconds. Dick’s hands were frantic, until at last he had nothing left to lose. He grabbed a whole handful of wires and tore them, sending sticks of TNT flying and causing the display to shudder and stop with a single second remaining. 

Damian sobbed and Dick breathed. 

Then in the next moment, Dick was reaching around his brother to unstrap the bomb. He set it aside, slashed the ropes holding Damian in place and tugged him into his arms. Dick stumbled to his feet, and hurried away from the tree, the packages, and the bomb, with Damian pressed so tightly into his chest he thought he might crack the kid in two. But Damian wasn’t complaining. 

He had his face buried in Dick’s shoulder and was weeping still. Silent tears shook his shoulders as he held on to Dick as tightly as Dick was holding him. 

Dick tangled a hand in Damian’s hair, and turned his face to press a kiss to his brother’s temple, “You’re okay. You’re okay.” 

When he looked back out at the crowd he found no one left. Steph had miraculously managed to scare everyone off. Best of all, she was standing by her bike, waving as she held a man by the arm. A man dressed in a sales rack santa suit who was glaring at them both. 

Dick jogged over, Damian clutched protectively in his arms. 

“Batman, Robin, might I present the Gift Gremlin!” Stephanie said, waving her free hand at him, “I caught him spying from a safe distance to watch his handiwork. Confessed without me even having to shake him down.” 

“I don’t understand!” The man said, “That bomb should have gone off! There was no way to disarm it!”

“I guess you’re just as bad at building bombs as you are in giving gifts.” Dick told him, “Here, let me show you what a good gift is.” 

Dick let go of Damian with one hand, reeled back and socked the guy right in the face. He stumbled back, yelling and trying to raise his cuffed hands to cradle his cheek but Stephanie’s grip on his arm wouldn’t let him. 

“That was a terrible gift.” The man said through a split lip. 

“It wasn’t for you.” Dick told him, then turned on his heel and moved towards the batmobile. 

“I guess I’ll just wait around for the cops then.” Stephanie said.

“Meet us later!” Dick called, “And thanks!” 

Damian squeezed Dick’s neck lightly, and then pulled away as Dick opened the passenger door, “Thank you.” he whispered in Dick’s ear just before he let himself be settled in his seat. 

Dick had just let go of Damian, but all he wanted to do was tug his kid back into his arms. He wanted to cry into Damian’s hair and feel his brother’s heartbeat against his chest and know he was safe. Know he was alright. But he couldn’t very well break down in the car sitting right here, or outside in the square. So he rolled his shoulders back and drove home, one hand on the wheel, one curled around Damian’s. 

When they got back to the bunker, Dick tugged Damian out of the car again, expecting his brother to argue. Instead, he curled into the hold, shoulders shaking again. Dick was struck by the fact that Damian had been gone two days. He’d been so caught up in the immediate danger of the bomb, he hadn’t spared another thought to what his brother might have gone through before the bomb and the box. 

Damian clinging like this was a sign it hadn’t been great. 

“Medbay.” Dick said, then, “Al, we’re back. I’ve got Damian.”

“I heard.” Alfred said, “Miss Stephanie also informed me you’ve caught the scoundrel intent on ruining the holidays.” 

“She caught him, I was a little busy disarming a bomb. Speaking of, I think Damian got hit by the first one.” 

His brother nodded into his chest, still silent. That too worried Dick. He’d argue, deny it, or downplay what happened normally. Right now he was accepting everything as it came, even agreeing. 

“Dames?” Dick murmured, “What’s wrong?” 

Damian shook his head, and squeezed Dick’s back a little tighter. 

Dick set him down gently on a cot, and took both Damian’s hands in his, “Damian I can’t help if I don’t know what’s wrong. He had you for a while, did he hurt you?”

His brother shrugged, staring down at their hands.

“That’s a non-answer, words, Robin. Please.”

“I stayed put.” Damian whispered and Dick’s heart skipped a beat, “I stayed on the street, I didn’t wander off. I--I didn’t want to leave.” 

“Oh sweetheart, I know.” Dick said, squeezing his hands, “I thought you might have gotten caught up in the blast.” 

He nodded, still looking down, “I was disoriented. I thought for a moment he was you.” 

Dick let go of one of Damian’s hands to run his hand over Damian’s head, careful of the injury to his temple, “This from the explosion?” 

Damian shook his head, “I tried to get away yesterday? Or earlier?” he pinched his brows together, “I can’t remember.” 

At last he looked up, “I’m sorry.” 

“About?” Dick asked, trying to keep the surprise off his face and out of his voice. 

Damian pulled his legs up on the bed, and let go of Dick’s hand to wrap his arms around them, “I ruined your plans. We did not get to light any more candles or attend the ice show you wanted to. And now I am afraid you will want to cancel the rest because I--”

He squeezed his legs a little tighter and dropped his head into his knees, “It is my fault. I meant to stay. I promise.” 

“Did he tell you, you’d ruined things?” Dick asked, voice quiet. 

It was the only thing he could think of to explain this. He thought they were past Damian being afraid of repercussions for mistakes. And this wasn’t even a mistake, he’d done everything right. The world just seemed to have it out for them. So, it had to be the Gremlin, maybe Grinch was a better name for him if he was trying to take Damian’s joy.

Dick thought about how he’d found Damian, how his brother had been disoriented. Had the last thing he’d heard been a promise that it was his fault? That the holidays would be forever ruined for Batman because of Robin?

“Damian look at me, please?” 

His brother raised his head and looked up again, eyes watery. 

“Nothing is ruined.” Dick promised, “In fact, we have so many more reasons to celebrate. You’re home, and safe. No one died tonight, and we even got the guy.” 

Dick reached out and cupped Damian’s cheek, “You’re  _ home _ , and that’s all I could have asked for. This time of year is about spending time with those you love, and I’m lucky enough to have more time with you. I meant it earlier, you’re my whole heart and more, Damian.” 

Tears spilled over Damian’s eyes, and he sniffed, then nodded, “‘kay.” 

“Give me a hug? Then we’ll patch you up, get something tasty in your belly --I doubt that guy had good food--and wait on Stephanie to get back. I think tonight’s the night we try those hot cocoa bombs we made the other day.” 

His brother shot into his arms, squeezing Dick tightly, “I love you too, Richard.” he whispered.

Dick held him for a long moment before letting go. Things weren’t perfect. Dick knew Damian had more he hadn’t shared, and Dick was still reeling himself. He probably wouldn’t sleep tonight unless he was right beside Damian. But they had each other. And Alfred, and Stephanie, and Barbara. Tim was on his way home for a short stint, and even Jason was making an effort. It wasn’t perfect, but they were getting there. 


End file.
